LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell,Second Edition is an invaluable resource for determining what you needto practice to pass the Linux Professional Institute exams. This bookwill helpyou determine when you're ready to take the exams, which aretechnically challenging and designed to reflect the skills thatadministrators needin real working environments.

As more corporations adopt Linux as the networking backbone for theirIT systems, the demand for certified technicians will becomeeven greater. Passing the LPI exams will broaden your career optionsbecause the LPICis the most widely known and respected Linux certification program intheworld. Linux Journal recognized the LPI as the bestTraining andCertification Program. The exams were developed by the LinuxProfessional Institute,an international, volunteer-driven organization with affiliates in adozen countries.

The core LPI exams cover two levels. Level 1 tests a basic knowledge ofLinux installation, configuration, and command-lineskills. Level 2 goes into much more depth regarding systemtroubleshooting andnetwork services such as email and the Web. The second edition of LPILinuxCertification in a Nutshell is a thoroughly researchedreference to these exams. The book is divided into four parts, one foreach of theLPI exams. Each part features not only a summary of the core skills youneed, but sample exercises and test questions, along with helpful hintsto letyou focus your energies.

Major topics include:

GNU and Unix commands

Linux installation and package management

Devices, filesystems, and kernel configuration

Text editing, processing, and printing

The X Window System

Networking fundamentals and troubleshooting

Security, including intrusion detection, SSH, Kerberos, andmore

DNS, DHCP, file sharing, and other networking infrastructure

Email, FTP, and Web services

Praise for the first edition:"Although O'Reilly's Nutshell series are intended as 'DesktopReference' manuals, I have to recommend this one as a goodall-round read; not only as a primer for LPI certification, but as anexcellent introductory text on GNU/Linux. In all, this is a valuableaddition toO'Reilly's already packed stable of Linux titles and I look forward tomore from the author."--First Monday

Steven Pritchard

Steven Pritchard is a Linux guy and a hardware geek who spends a disturbing amount of time working on Fedora's Perl packages (plus a few other things), occasionally remembers to update the Linux Hardware Compatibility HOWTO, and sort of works a day job. He lives in Fairview Heights, Illinois with his wife Kara, daughter Emma, and a bunch of cats.

Bruno Gomes Pessanha

Bruno Gomes Pessanha has been a collaborating translator for the Linux Professional Institute since 2002. He also works as a consulting analyst for a Brazilian government petroleum enterprise, covering Linux migration and initiatives and administering high-end performance projects, high availability clusters, and mission critical services. He lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Nicolai Langfeldt

Nicolai Langfeldt, a programmer, system administrator, and systems integrator, lives in Oslo, Norway. A Linux consultant since 1994, Nicolai works for Linpro (a well-established Norwegian Linux consulting firm) and is the cofounder of Linux Norge, an information portal for Linux. He has written several well-regarded HOWTOs for the Linux Documentation project and is author of "The Concise Guide to DNS and BIND" by QUE.

James Stanger

James Stanger has been involved with Linux since 1995, and has worked closely with the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) since its inception in 1999. He is Chair of the LPI Advisory Council, where he helps the LPI coordinate input from corporations and the open source community. James has a unique understanding of LPI's certification exams, as he is an expert in both the certification industry and in Gnu/Linux, networking, and security.

Jeff Dean

Jeff Dean is a freelance author and consultant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Jeffrey has professional experience in IT management, training delivery, and system administration of the VMS, Unix, AS/400, and Windows NT operating systems. He holds an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Engineering with emphasis in computer design from Penn State. He is a Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and LPI Certified.

I read this and a couple other texts in preparation for the LPIC-1 exam. This was by far the most comprehensive and helpful. Its coverage most closely matched the exam topics, and it covered a lot of good info in addition to that.

There were a couple of errors in the review questions, so be careful and review the answers closely.

'LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell' by Steven Pritchard is a book for anyone looking to get LPI Linux certified. Written and laid out in traditional great O'Reilly fashion, this 950+ page book will not only help you pass this certification, but it will get you to pass with flying colors!!

If you need an overview of LPI Linux and want to ramp up quickly for your test, you owe it to yourself to pick up this book and with enough preparation and study thanks to this book you WILL pass, I have no doubt!

This is basically a sound book. Be careful and make sure you buy the second edition, it is much revised and expanded on when compared with the first edition. As of autumn 2006 the second edition is a fairly good match to the current LPCI exams.

It is an awfully thick book (just shy of 1000 pages), which does make it a bit unweildy, but it does cover LPI 101, 102, 201 and 202 - note some books only cover 101+102.

Each section starts with an overview, you then get some commands, examples, some explanation and a mini-command overview. Scattered along there are exam notes and tips.

At the end of each exam level you get an exam review, some exercies to try and a set of sample questions and answers.

So far I've found a few typos in my second edition first print, check with O'Reilly they usually have errata on their web site, and these may be fixed in later reprints. Given the size and density of the book this is hardly surprising but do try things out and cross reference things with other sources.

I've also found that to some extent the book is a little dated already, for example it talks about XFree86, yet almost no distro uses this anymore (X.org being the current standard) and the LPI also refer to X.org rather than XFree86. In a fast moving area like Linux this is always to be expected, but forwarned is forarmed!

Like most recent O'Reilly books it is Safari enabled, you get 45 free subscription to their on-line service - should you wish to jump though the registration hoops.